QUOTE OF THE WEEK"The glory lies in the attempt to reach
one's goal and not reaching it."

--Monads K. Gandhi(pictured above)

"Gandhi obviously never tried to
learn and perfect a swingout!"

Jessica DensmoreSwing Shift helper extraordinare

¥ ¥
¥ ¥ THIS WEEK'S NEWS ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥

A FEW WORDS FROM PETE
VINCENT...

"Swing dancing is life. It's the
most beautiful form of exercise you can have fun doing."

We have had the extraordinary experience
of meeting and befriending Pete Vincent. Pete literally just walked
in off the street several weeks back and has since become a regular face
in our classroom and at our Wednesday night Rhythm Club dances. Pete
danced a lot in the original Swing era, both in the San Francisco bay area
as well as in Los Angeles, and either knew or danced with many of the local
dance legends such as Jewell McGowan, Irene Thomas and even Dean Collins!
We consider ourselves so fortunate to know this wonderful man and to have
him a part of our Lindy By The Sea family. Make sure you spend time
getting to know him; he's got loads of stories about back in the day.
And girls, ask him to dance!

He wrote to us recently about the photograph
of himself here, and also about dancing in California when he was somewhat
younger...

December
15, 2001

Dear Rusty and Peter,

The picture was taken in 1940 or '41.
And the time I was 16 or 17 years old. we were dancing at the Oakland
Women's City Club. It was called a tea dance, but I know there was
very little tea being served. it started around 2 pm until 8 pm.
After that, we would go to Sweet's Ballroom to dance to a big name band,
usually a black band. Either Count Basie, The Duke (Ellington), Earl
Hines, Fats Domino, etc. The blacks would be allowed in, but not
to dance. They could observe from the balcony and would be able to
dance to their bands on Monday nights. Now the whites were not allowed
to dance but could observe from the balcony. It was where most of
us learned how to do the lindy. So much for northern Cal. Down
south there was a dance every night of the week, if you could stand the
schedule. Monday was the American Legion Hall in Huntington Park,
Tuesday was the Casa Manana in Culver City, Wednesday was Casino Gardens
in Ocean Park, Thursday Lick Pier in Venice, Friday was the Trianon Ballroom
in South Gate, saturday was the Palladium in Hollywood, then it was back
to the Palladium for the Afternoon dance and contests. If a big name
band was at the Trianon, we would go there for the evening finale.
I know that you will understand why we danced as often as we did, but that
was the fun of dancing with a good partner. That's all for now, and
I will try to enlighten you some more in later emails.

Love of dance,Pete

.... and here's a very touching email that
Pete wrote to Rusty after his first night to the Rhythm Club:

December 14, 2001

Dear Rusty,

I would like to let you know that your
dancing with me Wednesday evening [at the Rhythm Club] was one of the finer
moments of my life. To once again just dance with someone who knew
the Lindy, was such a thrill for an old man. I'm sorry that I left without
saying that to you and good-bye, but I would have started crying with emotion.
Again I want to thank you for your kindness and making an old man happy
again. After all, it was over sixty years since the last time I had a partner
that could follow me [in Lindy].

Thanks again, dear Rusty.Pete Vincent

So, remember, when you see an old timer standing
around watching or on the dance floor, know what is going through their
minds -- the utter joy of watching a new generation living one of the happiest
times of their lives. Make sure to visit with, hear their stories,
and, most importantly, dance with them. It will add so much to your
life!

That's right!!! Next month, the world's
largest regularly held swing dance, the Satin Ballroom, returns!!!
This time around, the live music is none other than the Bill Elliott Swing
Orchestra, the hottest, hardest swingin' big band in the land...DON'T MISS
THIS!!! And the beginner's class, held immediately before the dancing
begins, will be taught by yours truly, Rusty and Peter! AND THEN...during
the course of the evening, there will be a performance, straight from "Swingin'
The Century -- The Big Band Show". Rusty and Peter, along with the
cast from that terrific show, will be entertaining the crowd with "Mildred,
Won't You Behave!" This number was one of the highlights from the
stage show, and we're sure you will want to see it...lively, wacky, and
FUN FUN FUN!!! So make sure to get your tickets now for the Satin
Ballroom, coming to you on Saturday, February 16th!!! You can order
tickets from the website...go to http://www.satinballroom.com
and click on the tickets button in the left-hand column...only $15 in advance,
and $19 at the door!!!! HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!

PERFORMANCE CLASS TO DISPLAY
THEIR LATEST ROUTINE ATSUZY Q'S ON FRIDAY, JANUARY
25TH!!!

REHEARSAL SCHEDULED
FOR SUNDAY NIGHT, JANUARY 20TH!!!5:30pm-7:00pm

We are absolutely thrilled to announce
that the Performance Class will be at Suzy Q's on Friday, January 25th
to perform the "Diga Diga Doo" number!!! We are so excited about
this we can hardly stand it! Make sure to come down to Suzy Q's and
scream, holler, shout and generally show support for your fellow students
as they strut their stuff!!! For those of you who are IN the number,
there will be a rehearsal on Sunday night, January 20th (that's this coming
Sunday) from 5:30-7pm at the Neptunian Woman's Club. This way we
can re-polish the number before wowing the crowd on Friday!

Last
Wednesday was an absolute blast, with our dear friends Sam and Barbara
coming down and showing us all how it's DONE!!! As many of you will
recall from last week's update on Wednesday, Sam and Barbara were among
the first to show Rusty and Peter how to do the balboa, and they are always
eager to show us new steps and moves at every opportunity. We were
thrilled to have them with us, and we even got them to give us a short
exhibition by themselves!!! We also had the great fortune to have
Alan and Rudy come in as well, two more outstanding dancers. We're
always delighted to have them with us whenever they're in town. AND
THEN!!! We had yet another brief display from two new friends, Pete
Vincent (whose letter and pictures are above) and Luigi, whom we just met
that night! All in all, a fabulous evening. Make sure to come
down this week...you never know what's going to happen, and you sure don't
want to miss out!!! Come down and dance the night away with us to
some of the best DJ'ed swing music anywhere. The Rhythm Club is widely
regarded as the friendliest swing venue around, and we are proud of that
reputation!!! Why not join us this coming Wednesday night?
We have a beginner's swing class from 7:30pm until 8:00pm, and then terrific
swing music until 11:30pm, with lots of fun and surprises along the way!
It's only $6 and it's open to ALL AGES!

We are thrilled to tell you all that we
will again be a part of the 2002 Lindy Cruise to Mexico, brought to you
by DanceFun!!! We were involved in last year's cruise and we can
honestly say that it was one of the most enjoyable events we have ever
done! The line-up of teachers is fantastic, including ourselves,
Erik and Sylvia, Shesha and Terra, Steve Conrad, Melinda Comeau, and Sylvia
Sykes!!! And the live music for the nightly dances will be handled
by none other than the SWING SESSION! This is a cruise of course,
so the dance classes are kept to a manageable amount per day (read "two
one-hour classes") to allow for plenty of time to relax, lounge around
or whatever. The cost for this outstanding weekend cruise to Ensenada
is only $399 per person (plus port and departure taxes) and the deadline
for that great price has been extended until January 18th. After
that the cost increases, so make sure to get your registration filled out
NOW...we have loads of registration forms at our classes and events, so
just ask for one!!! For more information on this incredible event,
click http://dancefun.com/lindy/020419swing&lindycruise/lindycruise_pg1.htm
! Hope to see you onboard!!!

LINK OF THE WEEK

This week's link of the week is another
reminder to attend the largest regularly held swing dance in the world,
the Satin Ballroom!!! This incredible dance is always a ball, filled
with hundreds of swing dancers of ALL levels and all ages, this month featuring
the live sounds of the Bill Elliott Swing Orchestra. If you have
never attended a Satin Ballroom before, or are new to swing dancing, MAKE
SURE TO GO!!! You won't believe your eyes...it's really unbelievable!
Check out their official website at http://www.satinballroom.com
!

*Wondering what the heck
a "gate" is? This was a phrase popularized by 1940's comedian, Jerry
Colonna, who would holler it out every time he was introduced on the Bob
Hope radio program. It was a friendly salutation to a swing cat (dancer
or swing music enthusiast).